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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26235520">A guidebook for Gallifreyan Doctors</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MigrantMayhem/pseuds/MigrantMayhem'>MigrantMayhem</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who, Doctor Who &amp; Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio), Doctor Who - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alien Biology, Anatomy, Gallifreyan Biology (Doctor Who), Gen, Physiology, Time Lord Physiology (Doctor Who), Xenobiology</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:07:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26235520</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MigrantMayhem/pseuds/MigrantMayhem</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>My husband got me into Doctor Who and I was dissatisfied with how they explained timelord physiology. Then I found the Gallifreyan Physiology article on Tardis DataCore and went NUTS.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Compare my notes to the actual page https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Gallifreyan_physiology</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Preface:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At this point in my life, I have taken three anatomy and physiology classes and one zoology course. Alien physiology has always been a passion of mine, and I’ve done this kind of reference sheet with several races mentally, but not on paper. I’m working on transcribing those as time allows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I didn’t really grow up with Doctor Who-- my mother did, and I watched a few episodes of Tenet-era DW with her, but it scared me, so not a whole lot. My childhood friend was also a strong Whovian, but I still couldn’t find myself getting into it. Then, I met my husband. What a guy. He’s seen every episode of Doctor Who to </span>
  <em>
    <span>date</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And I mean every episode. Starting from the pilot in 1960, he has gone out of his way to find and consume every episode, even if the footage is gone and all that’s left is a transcript. Die-hard fan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>My interest in Doctor Who was peaked inherently by </span>
  <em>
    <span>counter-interest</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I, who considered myself kind of an expert in theories on alien physiology, grew very </span>
  <em>
    <span>frustrated</span>
  </em>
  <span> with the show’s flippant lack of attachment to biology. I started watching to disprove it, and eventually fell in love with the world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I still do not consider myself a rabid Doctor Who fan, as I don’t hold a lot of attachment to the Doctor (in fact, I think they’re sort of a clown) and don’t really love the twisting directions the show has taken over the years. But I appreciate it for what it is, and as I do, show my appreciation for it by overanalyzing how Gallifreyans are put together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I poured over the Tardis DataCore entry on Gallifreyan Physiology to compile this list. I’m drawing information from everything from television, audio drama, and novels. I worked with what I feasibly could and filled in the gaps with headcanon. I hope you can find this guidebook useful for something, whether it’s designing a Gallifreyan OC (like me, woops) or writing the naughtiest alien smut of your life. Enjoy!</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Anatomy and Physiology</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I use a little bit of language, because I get very upset about the ridiculousness of the human body sometimes.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <ul>
<li><span>Vision</span></li>
<ul>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyan eyes can dilate up to 1.5 times more than a human pupil, allowing them to see in the dark (PROSE: </span><em><span>Lucifer Rising, Vampire Science</span></em><span>)</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyan eyes also have more elasticity in their lens, allowing them to manipulate the strength of the focus. This allows them to see far greater distances than their human counterparts. ( PROSE: </span><em><span>Seeing I</span></em><span>, TV: “The Eleventh Hour”, “The Hungry Earth”)</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyan’s irises can color shift slightly (from stories </span><em><span>Vampire Science, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Doctor Who and the Dæmons</span></em><span>). This is because Gallifreyan eyes are much more sophisticated than human eyes, and the iris consists of more muscles. The layers of these muscles have slightly different colors, meaning that their eye color will shift depending on the conditions they are in.</span>
</li>
</ul>
<li><span>Bones</span></li>
<ul>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans have been seen to survive falls that would shatter human bones (as seen on TV: </span><em><span>The End of Time</span></em><span>). This means that Gallifreyan bones would be coated in enamel (or made out of the same material that teeth are made of), making them harder than our bones. This does not negate the damage done to the Fourth Doctor when he fell and regenerated-- regardless of the density of the bones, damage to the spinal cord can still occur.</span>
</li>
</ul>
<li><span>Homeostasis</span></li>
<ul>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans can adjust their body temperature wildly and can maintain homeostasis in the harshest of conditions (TV: “The Tomb of the Cybermen”, “The Seeds of Doom”, “The Ribos Operation”, “42”, “The Infinite Quest”, “Planet of the Ood”, “Oxygen”, “The End of Time”,and the comic </span><em><span>The Betrothal of Sontar</span></em><span>)</span>
</li>
<li><span>Can also adjust their heart rate to manipulate the amount of oxygen in the body. (to explain surviving deep space, as seen in the above episodes)</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span>Pulmonary</span></li>
<ul>
<li>
<span>Have nasal flaps that come down when submerged underwater to prevent oxygen loss/water inhalation (from the story </span><em><span>Warriors of the Deep</span></em><span>)</span>
</li>
<li><span>Gallifreyan lungs are maybe half the size of human lungs, but with 11 lobes. Each lobe is packed with alveoli and have as much if not more capacity than humans. (to adjust for the fact that they have two hearts)</span></li>
<li><span>Unlike stupid fucking humans, Gallifreyans can function with one functioning lung-- they don’t need the other one to keep breathing. (source: me. I learned we do this in my college anatomy class and nearly lost my shit. Its so stupid. ugh)</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span>Liver</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span>Their livers are very very porous, causing them to be flimsy upon removal, but can filter at a rate that is 100:1 in humans. The livers regenerate 10x faster as well. This also allows them to survive intense blasts of radiation and other such fatal things. (TV: “Smith and Jones”, “Planet of the Spiders”, “The End of Time”)</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span>Memory/Energy</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span>Gallifreyans do not have to sleep, as they gather energy from food and Gallifreyans consolidate memory all the time in one of their extra lobes (more on that in a moment). A Gallifreyan lacks proper GABA and glycine receptors (the things that activate the sleepy hormone), and don’t produce melatonin (the sleepy hormone). (adapted from what was seen in TV: “The Talons of Weng-Chiang”, “Mummy on the Orient Express”, HOMEVID: “Night and the Doctor”, PROSE: “The Highlanders”)</span></li>
<li><span>The only times Gallifreyans sleep is when they are gravely injured, in which case it is less like sleep and more like a coma. Almost all parts of the brain are deactivated while the body heals, the only parts remaining active being the brainstems. (TV: Inferno, Planet of the Daleks, PROSE: EarthWorld, Vanishing Point)</span></li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans have a very specific memory, meaning if they see something a thousand years ago and then experience it the same way (i.e. tasting a particular blood type) they will immediately remember it. (TV: “The Christmas Invasion”, “Tooth and Claw”, “ The Visitation”, “The Idiot's Lantern”, “The Time of Angels”, “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship”, PROSE: </span><em><span>Bad Therapy</span></em><span>)</span>
</li>
</ul>
<li><span>Aging</span></li>
<ul>
<li>
<span>Age is very relative to Gallifreyans-- while the body can last up to 600 years at a time, physical stress can cause them to age artificially. (to explain numerous inconsistencies with Timelord aging, some seen in TV: “The Leisure Hive”, “The Night of the Doctor”, “The Day of the Doctor”, “ The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords”, “The Impossible Astronaut”, “The Time of the Doctor”, PROSE: </span><em><span>World Game,</span></em> <em><span>Tales of Trenzalore</span></em><span>-- and many others)</span>
</li>
<li><span>Dementia is very rare in Gallifreyans, but when it is seen death is soon to come. They cannot last for decades with dementia like humans can. (from personal experience)</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span>Nervous system</span></li>
<ul>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans have superior senses and reflexes due to more myelin covering their neurons. (PROSE: </span><em><span>Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons, Trading Futures</span></em><span>, TV: “The End of the World”, “The Doctor's Daughter”, “The Time Monster”, “The Witch's Familiar”)</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyan olfactory glands are evolved to detect toxins in the air, that way they can be sure to seek safety if the step out on a planet that will kill them (adapted from sources, PROSE: </span><em><span>Doctor Who and the Carnival of Monsters</span></em><span>, TV: “The Unicorn and the Wasp”, “The Time of Angels”)</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans have three brainstems (TV: “Extremis”) that each connect to an individual third of a Gallifreyan’s brain. These ‘thirds’ are more like condensed, whole brains (adapted from PROSE: </span><em><span>Island of Death</span></em><span>)-- each with a myriad of jobs being done all at the same time. Each third (which has a name in Gallifreyan that cannot translate to English, the closest being “hemisphere”) of the brain is completely identical to the other two at birth, but over time structures strengthen and weaken as each section specializes.</span>
</li>
<li><span>Gallifreyans evolved low-level touch-telepathy, enabling them to communicate memories and other events to others, but not abstract ideas. With simpler brains, they can play around a little bit more-- relieving dementia, erasing memories, putting people to sleep, and other such things. (TV: “Terror of the Autons”, “The Ribos Operation”, “Fear Her”, “The Girl in the Fireplace”, “The End of Time”, “The Shakespeare Code”, “Listen”, “The Eleventh Hour”, “Journey's End”, “Spyfall”)</span></li>
<li><span>This telepathy can extend to people they have been in the minds of before but with some difficulty. (TV: “The Sensorites”, “The Three Doctors”, “The Pirate Planet”, “Spyfall”)</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span>Cardiovascular</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span>Two hearts (this is mentioned so much)</span></li>
<li><span>Gallifreyan blood is made of hemoglobin but has low levels of vanabin, just enough to kill tiny parasites (this is operating under the assumption that vanabin is a poison, but no one really knows what vanabin does in the year of our lord 2020)</span></li>
<li>
<span>The vanabin turns yellow when exposed to oxygen, causing the dark orangey blood tone Gallifreyans have. ((TV: “The Two Doctors”, PROSE: </span><em><span>The Left-Handed Hummingbird</span></em><span>, </span><em><span>Vampire Science</span></em><span>)</span>
</li>
<li><span>Gallifreyans have a ‘temporal platelets,’ named so after the mutations caused by exposure to the time vortex. Injuries heal much faster with them. (AUDIO: “The Bride of Peladon”)</span></li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans have close to 10 different blood types, each with a name after the ancient gallifreyan alphabet. This is why houses are so important on Gallifrey, is they are mostly tied to blood types and the genomes associated with those blood types. (adapted from PROSE: </span><em><span>The Eight Doctors</span></em><span>)</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans have a phagocyte that follows their bloodstream that destroys blockages in arteries, eliminating the possibility of a heart attack. (PROSE: </span><em><span>Keeping up with the Joneses</span></em><span>)</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans can survive for a little while with one functioning heart, but need both to be functioning to operate at full capacity (PROSE: </span><em><span>Managra, The Adventures of Henrietta Street</span></em><span>, TV: “The Shakespeare Code”, “The Power of Three”)</span>
</li>
</ul>
<li><span>Skin</span></li>
<ul>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyan skin has a protective layer between the dermis and subcutaneous layer that destroys most foreign objects or particles that linger there. (PROSE: </span><em><span>Burning Heart</span></em><span>)</span>
</li>
</ul>
<li><span>Other</span></li>
<ul>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyan DNA is in a triple helix formation, with 69 chromosomes that turn into 23 chromosome triads (PROSE: </span><em><span>The Crystal Bucephalus,  Interference - Book Two</span></em><span>, COMIC: </span><em><span>Doctormania</span></em><span>, TV: “A Good Man Goes to War”) </span>
</li>
<li><span>Only 12,000 genomes determine physical appearance, meaning only about 3 chromosomes change at all during a regeneration</span></li>
<li>
<span>Most parts of Gallifreyan anatomy can be controlled consciously as well as unconsciously, like lungs and hearts. (TV: “Destiny of the Daleks”, “Terror of the Zygons”, “Four to Doomsday”, PROSE: </span><em><span>Wishing Well, The Left-Handed Hummingbird, The Quantum Archangel</span></em><span>)</span>
</li>
</ul>
</ul>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Sexual Reproduction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>How could I leave out the naughty bits? I went a little nuts on this because, well you see, not only am I a teratophiliac, but also, I believe that the human reproductive system is... like a supercomputer powered by only extension cords? An engine ran by three raccoons on a running wheel? a potato battery? Yes. it sucks.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning: This stuff is NSFW. You know. Since I'm talking about alien plugs and sockets. It doesn't get too explicit, but it goes into anatomical, clinical detail. Might make some readers uncomfortable.</p><p>Also, since I am very passionate about this kind of stuff, warning for language.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <ul>
<ul>
<li><span>Gallifreyans have all the organs for sexual reproduction, but mostly use the Loom to reproduce (if you’re unfamiliar, think of it like a eugenics machine)</span></li>
<li><span>Due to the fact that regenerations can alter the sex of the Gallifreyan, most sexual organs are in analogos locations</span></li>
<li>
<span>The testes on male Gallifreyans are internal, in a similar location to ovaries, because Gallifreyan do not have the same hangups as humans when it comes to controlling internal body temperature. (adapted from information from AUDIO: “Blood of the Daleks”, “The Helliax Rift”, “Concealed Weapon”, PROSE: </span><em><span>Father Time</span></em><span>, TV: “Planet of the Daleks”).</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans all have three openings in the perineal area-- the reproductive canal, the urethra, and the anus. In both men and women the reproductive canal comes before the urethra, in men being the canal inside the penis while in women it is the equivalent of the vagina. The urethra sits equidistant to the reproductive canal and the anus, decreasing the risk of infection. (because, pray TELL, why is the </span><em><span>vagina </span></em><span>equidistant to the </span><em><span>urethra </span></em><span>and the </span><em><span>anus </span></em><span>in humans? So we can rip all the way down the middle?? This subject fills me with such fury it’s so stupid you </span><em><span>guys </span></em><span>it’s so dumb)</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>The fallopian tubes encapsulate the ovaries, instead of them just free floating over there. (Gallifreyans, at this point, are just humans 2.0 because none of these </span><em><span>pieces make sense why would we want a </span></em><span>BABY </span><em><span>IN OUR LIVER??? INTELLIGENT DESIGN MY ASS</span></em><span>)</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans do not have a prostate because of the placement of their urethra (HA! This is actually written in PROSE: </span><em><span>Bide-a-Wee</span></em><span>! I took it as a personal challenge to get this into the guide because I thought it was so </span><em><span>fucking funny</span></em><span>.)</span>
</li>
<li><span>Both male and female Gallifreyans have seven different glands dedicated to the production of reproductive fluids-- male glands secrete mucous that helps for sperm, while female glands secrete mucous that adds lubrication. (bc nothing’s worse than trying to slip in and realize ‘wet’ isn’t wet enough)</span></li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans have a hormone called </span><em><span>Nogharos</span></em><span> that activates arousal based upon a biological clock, since they live for so long they would forget to have children. Most Gallifreyans have evolved a hormone called </span><em><span>Ninogharos </span></em><span>that blocks the receptors of </span><em><span>Nogharos</span></em><span>, stopping most arousal responses. Every child produced by the Loom has the </span><em><span>Ninogharos</span></em><span> gene, but it is a recessive trait among natural-births.</span>
</li>
<li>
<span>Gallifreyans enter an estrus cycle every 250 years if they lack the </span><em><span>Ninogharos </span></em><span>gene. (go nuts with that, porn authors).</span>
</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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